‘Vanguard’ to tell saga of imprisoned journalists

North Korean capture of Lee, Ling detailed

The saga of TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee will be featured in the May 19 fourth-season premiere of Peabody-honored Current TV series “Vanguard.”

Entitled “Captive in North Korea,” the season premiere will offer previously unseen footage, interviews and commentary with Vanguard reporters Ling and Lee about being held captive in North Korea for more than four months last year. Ling and Lee were captured by North Korean soldiers who tracked them into China.

The pair, who had been on the North Korea side of the border for minutes, were sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment and hard labor, before being pardoned in August.

Future episodes of “Vanguard” will tackle such issues as rape on a Native American reservation, exploitation of West African soccer prospects, and American evangelical influence on Uganda’s anti-gay laws.